Chapter 119

The courtroom fell silent as if Louis’s remark had poured cold water over the atmosphere. The Emperor only moved his eyes to look at his son.  

Louis felt he understood what the Emperor wanted to say just from his gaze.  

I warned you to be cautious of external relatives. When you seek their help, they will pounce on you, licking and tearing at you twofold, threefold. I warned you to be careful, and yet you so easily gave them your ankle.  

Pathetic.  

Hearing the Emperor’s reprimand as if it were ringing in his ears, Louis’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.  

“I reject the Crown Prince’s request.” 

The Emperor said, withdrawing his gaze from Louis.  

“Your Majesty!”  

Louis called out urgently to the Emperor, but the Emperor didn’t change his expression as he gestured toward Dave. At the signal, Dave nodded and handed a prepared envelope of documents to Louis.  

“Verify it.”  

The Marquis Huckleberry, with a stern expression, looked at Louis. Louis glanced at the Emperor before slowly untying the string on the envelope.  

“What the Crown Prince is looking at now is a detailed account of what the criminal Aitor attempted to do to assist Inferna. Summon the witness.”  

At the Emperor’s words, the wooden door through which Benjamin Cloak and Aitor had passed earlier opened. All eyes turned to the doorway, where Tristan stood.  

Tristan walked forward with steady steps, greeted the Emperor with proper etiquette, and then took the witness stand. Swearing before the gods that he would not perjure himself, he looked at Louis and smiled like a snake.  

“Witness. You are here to prove the guilt of the criminal Aitor Turner. Are the contents of the document the Crown Prince is holding all true?”  

“Yes, they are. Robert Fame, the leader of Inferna, personally persuaded him. I had to act as bait to recruit a genius whose equal may not appear for centuries. I saw it myself. With these very eyes.”  

Though Louis and Aitor glared at him, Tristan continued speaking calmly, placing his right hand over his left chest and bowing his head to the Emperor.  

“Your esteemed Majesty, he is an extremely dangerous individual. As the adopted son of Caspian, who betrayed the Empire, he harbors a grudge not only against the Empire but also against the Imperial Family.”  

Tristan raised his deeply bowed head and looked at Aitor.  

“How could such a person, possessing exceptional skills, not be a threat to the Empire? There are few in the Mage Tower who could stop him unless they possess extraordinary magical power. Can you handle such a person?”  

Tristan confidently raised his head and scanned the high-ranking nobles in the courtroom.  

With his chin held high, his arrogant expression seemed to say, ‘Can any of you handle him? So stop arguing and impose a heavy punishment.’  

The courtroom buzzed with murmurs at the mage’s testimony. The atmosphere, which had briefly shifted in Aitor’s favor, reversed in an instant.  

The Emperor, satisfied, rested his elbow on the armrest and propped his chin on his hand as he addressed Tristan.  

“I have heard your testimony well. It has greatly aided in judging the criminals.”  

Louis clenched his fists and bowed his head, trembling as he glared at Tristan retreating from the witness stand.  

When did that bat-like snake side with the Emperor?

Blaming himself for letting his guard down, he bit his molars tightly.  

“Does anyone have further opinions?”  

The Emperor alternated his gaze between Marquis Huckleberry and Louis as he asked. Huckleberry sat quietly in his chair. Looking at Louis’s tightly closed lips, the Emperor straightened his posture and looked down at the courtroom.  

“It seems the criminals’ guilt has been sufficiently proven. Then, combining your opinions, I will now deliver the verdict.”  

The courtroom fell silent at the Emperor’s words. Everyone held their breath, watching only the Emperor’s lips. The Emperor rose from his chair and descended the platform to stand before Cloak and Aitor.  

“First, Benjamin Cloak, hear this. Your crime is grave, very grave. Accepting everyone’s opinions, I hereby confiscate Benjamin Cloak’s private assets, strip him of his position, and sentence him to death.”  

At the Emperor’s verdict, some sighed in lament, while others clapped in approval. The Emperor waited for the courtroom to quiet down again before shifting his gaze to Aitor.  

“Aitor Turner. Your crime is also unforgivable. However, it is also an undeniable fact that you have worked for the Empire.”  

The Emperor looked indifferently at Aitor’s tightly bound hands, which trembled slightly.  

“I hereby banish Aitor Turner from the Empire.”  

At the Emperor’s verdict, the courtroom once again erupted into chaos. 

The punishment is too light. No, isn’t that sufficient? 

People voiced their opinions, spitting as they spoke.  

Louis looked at Rayden, who was standing to one side of the courtroom amidst the commotion. Exchanging determined glances, Rayden quietly left the courtroom.  

No one noticed Rayden leaving. Everyone was too busy expressing their dissatisfaction or approval of the verdict.  

In the chaotic courtroom, Marquis Cloak blinked as if he hadn’t heard the verdict against him.  

As the Emperor finished delivering the verdict and returned to his chair, the knights, who had been waiting, approached Benjamin Cloak and Aitor, who were seated in the criminals’ seats.  

The lifeless Marquis Cloak and Aitor were weakly lifted by the knights.  

At that moment—  

“Her Majesty the Empress is entering!”  

The courtroom doors opened, not from where the Emperor had entered, but from another side, and Empress Annette walked in gracefully.  

“The Empress?”  

The Emperor’s brows furrowed deeply at the sudden appearance of the Empress.  

Following behind Empress Annette were Vivian Dinever, Rosie Langdne, and a young girl dressed in commoner clothes, holding Vivian’s hand and looking around curiously. The Emperor’s expression darkened further.  

“We greet His Majesty, the Emperor of the Empire.”  

As the Empress greeted him, Vivian and Rosie, who had followed her, also bowed their heads without any sign of disorder. The young girl holding Vivian’s hand sniffled and clumsily bowed.  

“What brings the Empress here?”  

Straightening her back, Empress Annette looked at the Emperor and smiled faintly.  

“I had no choice but to come here at someone’s earnest request. It seems I arrived just in time.”  

“This is not a place for noblewomen to come, let alone bringing a child….”  

At the Emperor’s sharp tone, the Empress smiled even more brightly and nodded toward Vivian.  

After bowing to the Empress, Vivian took the child’s hand and walked forward. Aitor, who had been hanging his head weakly, slowly turned to look at her.  

“Your Majesty. I have brought a witness to clear Aitor Turner’s false charges.”  

At Vivian’s words, the knights holding Aitor, the Emperor, and even Louis couldn’t hide their surprise.  

The Emperor immediately narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze on the young girl holding Vivian’s hand and staring blankly at him.  

“I understand that you, Vivian Dinever, and Rosie Langdne are not accepted as witnesses.”  

“Yes, Your Majesty. The witness is not me, but this child.”  

The courtroom instantly became a madhouse at the mention of a small girl being a witness. Some shouted, questioning how a commoner child could be a witness.  

Duke Dinever only crossed his arms and calmly watched his daughter without taking any action.  

“Do you find this situation amusing, young lady?”  

Once the commotion subsided slightly, the Emperor asked. His voice and gaze were chilling, but Vivian didn’t even blink as she slowly opened her mouth.  

“Amusing? How could I think such a thing? I merely found a witness with great difficulty for the sake of a fair trial. Please allow her to testify.”  

“She’s a child. How can we consider her words as testimony?”  

At that moment, the young girl, who had been alternating her gaze between the Emperor and Vivian, pulled her hand away from Vivian’s and spoke loudly.  

“Hello! I’m Laila from an orphanage in District 12 of the capital. I’m seven years old. I’m not a child! Our director always pats my head, saying I’m all grown up now.”  

Laila’s clear and confident words caused the courtroom to erupt in scoffs and laughter of disbelief.  

Vivian smiled brightly at the adorable little girl, Laila, who shared her name with Countess Laila, and took a step forward.  

“Laila was present at the location where Aitor and Marquis Cloak met, and the Knight Commander can confirm this.”  

At Vivian’s words, the Emperor’s gaze turned to the Knight Commander, Stephan. He could only nod in agreement.  

“Additionally, according to the Empire’s laws, a seven-year-old child can testify. It’s written that there is no distinction between commoners and nobles, and there are precedents for this.”  

At Vivian’s words, the Emperor looked at Dave. Dave smiled awkwardly and nodded.  

“Fine. If the child can take the witness oath on her own, that is.”  

When the Emperor gave his permission, Rosie and Vivian sighed in relief. Laila trotted up to the witness stand, smiled brightly at Vivian, and moved her small lips.  

Once the perfect witness oath was completed, the Emperor sneered and glared at Vivian and her father.  

“…Very well. Laila. What is your testimony?”  

At the Emperor’s question, Laila pointed her short, chubby finger at Marquis Cloak and Aitor.  

“That handsome older brother and that old man don’t get along!”  

The Emperor’s expression twisted further, and Dave quickly approached the witness stand to ask gently.  

“Can you tell us in more detail?”  

Nodding at Dave’s soft request, Laila began explaining how she had started playing hide-and-seek, how she had found a good hiding spot, and how she had overheard the two arguing.  

Some nobles shouted, asking how long they had to listen to the child’s testimony, but they quickly fell silent under the Empress’s sharp gaze.  

“Then that older brother and the old man came later and kept fighting.”  

Laila then began recounting the conversation between Aitor and Marquis Cloak word for word, without missing a single detail.  

“Laila is smart, so she remembers everything.”  

At Laila’s words, the courtroom once again erupted in disbelief. Someone shouted that the child was lying, but Laila insisted she wasn’t a liar and began describing everything she had seen in the Imperial Palace, down to the sculptures, trees, flowers, and even the scratches on the hallway walls.  

There was no way a commoner child from District 12 could know such details about the inner palace.  

As the courtroom fell silent at Laila’s remarkable memory, Vivian stepped forward.  

“She was there by coincidence. This clever child remembered everything about the conversation between Aitor and Benjamin Cloak. While Rosie and I cannot be witnesses, this child can. Please clear Aitor’s name, Your Majesty.”  

At Vivian’s words, the Emperor began tapping the armrest with his index finger.  

As everyone in the courtroom waited for the Emperor’s verdict, all eyes focused on him.  

The child stepped down from the witness stand and flapped her hands like a butterfly’s wings as she approached Vivian.  

The Emperor looked at Laila, who was watching Vivian with sparkling eyes, waiting for praise, and finally opened his mouth.